General Chemistry

Course # 111, two credits

Second Semester 2009

King Saud bin Abdulaziz University for Health Science

Textbook: Principles of Modern Chemistry

by David W. Oxtoby, H. Pat Gillis, and Alan Campion (6 edition; 2007)

Dr. Rabih O. Al-Kaysi

Ext: 47247
Email: kaysir@ksau-hs.edu.sa
Lectures 16 & 17
Acids & Bases

Review of Acids and
Bases
• Acids and Bases:
• Important in biological, industrial, reactions in the
laboratory, etc.
• Acids taste sour and cause dyes to change color.
• Bases taste bitter and feel slippery.
• Arrhenius concept of acids and bases:
• Addition of acids increase H+ concentration in the solution.
– Example: HCl is an acid.
• Addition of bases increase OH- concentration in solution.
– Example: NaOH is a base.
• Problem: the definition confines us to aqueous solution.

Brønsted-Lowry Acids
and Bases
• A more general definition for acids and bases, based on
the Bronsted-Lowry concept, is that acid-base reactions
involve proton (H+) transfer.
• Consider the H+ in water:
• The H+(aq) ion is simply a proton with no surrounding
valence electrons. (H has one proton, one electron, and
no neutrons.)
• In water, the H+(aq) form clusters.
– The simplest cluster is H3O+(aq), which is called the
Hydronium ion.
– Larger clusters are H5O2+ and H9O4+.
• Generally we use H+(aq) and H3O+(aq) interchangeably.

Proton Transfer
• Focus on the H+(aq).
• Arrhenius acid definition, an acid increases [H+] and a
base increases [OH-].
• Brønsted-Lowry: acid donates H+ and base accepts H+.
• Brønsted-Lowry base does not need to contain OH-.
• Consider HCl(aq) + H2O(l) → H3O+(aq) + Cl-(aq):
– HCl donates a proton to water. Therefore, HCl is an acid.
– H2O accepts a proton from HCl. Therefore, H2O is a
base.
• Water can behave as either an acid or a base.
• Amphoteric substances can behave as acids and bases.

Conjugate Acids and
Bases
• Whatever is left of the acid after the proton is donated is
called its conjugate base.
• Similarly, whatever remains of the base after it accepts a
proton is called a conjugate acid.
• Consider HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)
– After HA (acid) loses its proton it is converted into A-
(base). Therefore HA and A- are conjugate acid-base
pairs.
– After H2O (base) gains a proton it is converted into H3O+
(acid). Therefore, H2O and H3O+ are conjugate acid-base
pairs.
• Conjugate acid-base pairs differ by only one proton.


Strengths of Acids and

Bases
• The stronger the acid, the weaker the conjugate
base; the stronger the base, the weaker the
conjugated acid.
• H+ is the strongest acid that can exist in equilibrium
in an aqueous solution.
• OH- is the strongest base that can exist in
equilibrium in an aqueous solution.
Acids and Bases

The Autoionization of
Water
• In pure water the following equilibrium is established
H2O(l) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + OH-(aq)

• at 25 °C
[H3O + ][OH - ]
K eq =
[H 2O]2
K eq × [H 2O]2 = [H3O + ][OH - ]

K w = [H3O + ][OH- ] = 1.0 × 10−14

• The above is called the autoionization of water.


Expressing pH amd
pOH
• In most solutions [H+(aq)] is quite small.
• We define
pH = − log[H3O + ] = − log[H + ] pOH = − log[OH- ]
• In neutral water at 25 °C, pH = pOH = 7.00.
• In acidic solutions, [H+] > 1.0 × 10-7 , so pH < 7.00.
• In basic solutions, [H+] < 1.0 × 10-7 , so pH > 7.00.
• The higher the pH, the lower the pOH, the more
basic the solution.

The pH Scale

• Most pH and pOH values fall between 0 and 14.

• pH = 7 implies a neutral solution exist.
• pH > 7 implies a basic solution exist.
• pH < 7 implies an acidic solution exist.
• There are no theoretical limits on the values of pH
or pOH. (e.g. pH of 2.0 M HCl is -0.301.)


Expressing pH and pOH

Other “p” Scales
• In general for a number X,
p X = − log X
• For example, pKw = -log Kw.
K w = [H + ][OH- ] = 1.0 × 10−14
( )
pK w = − log [H + ][OH - ] = 14
∴ − log[H + ] − log[OH - ] = 14
pH + pOH = 14


Measuring pH
• Most accurate method to measure pH is to use a pH
meter.
• However, certain dyes change color as pH changes.
These are indicators.
• Indicators are less precise than pH meters.
• Many indicators do not have a sharp color change
as a function of pH.
• Most indicators tend to be red in more acidic
solutions.
Indicators pH Range

Strong Acids
• The strongest common acids are HCl, HBr, HI, HNO3,
HClO3, HClO4, and H2SO4.
• Strong acids are strong electrolytes.
• All strong acids ionize completely in solution:
HNO3(aq) + H2O(l) → H3O+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
• Since H+ and H3O+ are used interchangeably, we write
HNO3(aq) → H+(aq) + NO3-(aq)
• In solutions the strong acid is usually the only source of H+.
• Therefore, the pH of the solution is the initial molarity of
the monoprotic acid
• Caution: If the molarity of the acid is less than 10-6 M, the
autoionization of water needs to be taken into account.

Strong Bases
• Most ionic hydroxides are strong bases (e.g. NaOH, KOH,
and Ca(OH)2).
• Strong bases are strong electrolytes and dissociate
completely in solution.
• The pOH (and hence pH) of a strong base is given by the
initial molarity of the base. Be careful of stoichiometry.
• In order for a hydroxide to be a base, it must be soluble.
• Bases do not have to contain the OH- ion:
O2- (aq) + H2O(l) → 2OH-(aq)
H-(aq) + H2O(l) → H2(g) + OH-(aq)
N3-(aq) + H2O(l) → NH3(aq) + 3OH-(aq)

Weak Acids
• Most acidic substances or weak acids
• Weak acids are only partially ionized in solution.
• There is a mixture of ions and unionized acid in
solution.
• Therefore, weak acids are in equilibrium:
HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)
le
ea
b
[H 3O + ][A - ]
Ka =
g
h an
c
in
t er
[HA]
HA(aq) H+(aq) + A-(aq)
[H + ][A - ]
Ka =
[HA]

Weak Acids
• Ka is the acid dissociation constant.
• Note [H2O] is omitted from the Ka
expression. (H2O is a pure liquid.)
• The larger the Ka the stronger the acid (i.e.
the more ions are present at equilibrium
relative to unionized molecules).
• If Ka >> 1, then the acid is completely
ionized and the acid is a strong acid.
• See Table 16.2 (example Ka values;
typically less than 10-3 ).

Calculating Ka from pH
• Weak acids are simply equilibrium calculations.
• The pH gives the equilibrium concentration of H+.
• Using Ka, the concentration of H+ (and hence the
pH) can be calculated.
• Write the balanced chemical equation clearly showing the
equilibrium.
• Write the equilibrium expression. Find the value for Ka.
• Write down the initial and equilibrium concentrations for
everything except pure water. We usually assume that
the change in concentration of H+ is x.
• Substitute into the equilibrium constant expression and
solve. Remember to turn x into pH if necessary.


Percent Acid Ionization

• Percent ionization is another method to assess acid
strength.
• For the reaction

HA(aq) + H2O(l) H3O+(aq) + A-(aq)

[H3O + ]eqm
% ionization = × 100
[HA]0


Ionization of Weak Acids

• Percent ionization relates the equilibrium H+
concentration, [H+]eqm , to the initial HA
concentration, [HA]0.
• The higher percent ionization, the stronger the acid.
• Percent ionization of a weak acid decreases as the
molarity of the solution increases.
• For acetic acid, 0.05 M solution is 2.0 % ionized
whereas a 0.15 M solution is 1.0 % ionized.
 Weak Acids
(Polyprotic)
• Polyprotic acids have more than one ionizable
proton.
• The protons are removed in steps not all at once:
+ - K = 1.7 x 10 -2
H2SO3(aq) H (aq) + HSO3 (aq) a1

HSO3-(aq) H+(aq) + SO32-(aq) Ka2 = 6.4 x 10-8

• It is always easier to remove the first proton in a

polyprotic acid than the second.
• Therefore, Ka1 > Ka2 > Ka3 etc.
Example of Polyprotic
Acids


Weak Bases
• Weak bases remove protons from substances.
• There is an equilibrium between the base and the
resulting ions:
Weak base + H2O conjugate acid + OH-
• Example:
NH3(aq) + H2O(l) NH4+(aq) + OH-(aq)
• The base dissociation constant, Kb, is defined as

[ NH 4+ ][OH- ]
Kb =
[ NH3 ]

Types of Weak
Bases
• Bases generally have lone pairs or negative
charges in order to attack protons.
• Most neutral weak bases contain nitrogen.
• Amines are related to ammonia and have one or
more N-H bonds replaced with N-C bonds (e.g.,
CH3NH2 is methylamine).
• Anions of weak acids are also weak bases.
Example: ClO- is the conjugate base of HOCl (weak
acid):
ClO-(aq) + H2O(l) HClO(aq) + OH-(aq) Kb = 3.3 x 10-7


Relationship Between Ka and Kb

• We need to quantify the relationship between

strength of acid and conjugate base.
• When two reactions are added to give a third, the
equilibrium constant for the third reaction is the
product of the equilibrium constants for the first two:
Reaction 1 + reaction 2 = reaction 3
has
K3 = K1 × K 2

Conjugate acid-base Ka and Kb

• For a conjugate acid-base pair

K w = K a × Kb
• Therefore, the larger the Ka, the smaller the Kb.
That is, the stronger the acid, the weaker the
conjugate base.
• Taking negative logarithms:
pK w = pK a + pK b = 14.00

• at 25 oC

Acid-Base Properties of
Salt Solutions
• Nearly all salts are strong electrolytes.
• Therefore, salts exist entirely of ions in solution.
• Acid-base properties of salts are a consequence of
the reaction of their ions in solution.
• The reaction in which ions produce H+ or OH- in
water is called hydrolysis.
• Anions from weak acids are basic.
• Anions from strong acids are neutral.

Anion’s Ability to
React with Water
• Anions, A-, can be considered conjugate bases from
acids, HA.
• For A- comes from a strong acid, then it is neutral.
• If A- comes from a weak acid, then
-
AX- (aq) + H2O(l) HX(aq) + OH-(aq)
HA
• The pH of the solution can be calculated using
equilibrium!


Cation’s Ability to
React with Water

• Polyatomic cations with ionizable protons can be

considered conjugate acids of weak bases.

NH4+(aq) + H2O(l) NH3(aq) + H3O+(aq)

• Some metal ions react in solution to lower pH.


Effect of Cation and
Anion in Solution
• Anions from strong acids have no acid-base properties.
• Anions that are the conjugated bases of weak acids will
cause an increase in the pH of the solution.
• A cation that is the conjugate acid of a weak base will cause
a decrease in the pH of the solution.
• Metal ions will cause a decrease in pH except for the alkali
metals and alkaline earth metals.
• When a solution contains both cations and anions from weak
acids and bases, use Ka and Kb to determine the final pH of
the solution.

Factors that effect
Acid Strengths

• Consider H-A. For this substance to be an acid we

need:
• H-A bond to be polar with Hδ + and Aδ - (if A is a
metal then the bond polarity is Hδ -, Aδ + and the
substance is a base),
• the H-A bond must be weak enough to be broken,
• the conjugate base, A-, must be stable.


Other Acid Groups (Carboxylic

Acids)
• Carboxylic acids all contain the COOH group.
• All carboxylic acids are weak acids.
• When the carboxylic acid loses a proton, it generate
the carboxylate anion, COO-.
O
C
R OH

Lewis Acids and
Bases

• Brønsted-Lowry acid is a proton donor.

• Focusing on electrons: a Brønsted-Lowry acid can
be considered as an electron pair acceptor.
• Lewis acid: electron pair acceptor.
• Lewis base: electron pair donor.
• Note: Lewis acids and bases do not need to contain
protons.
• Therefore, the Lewis definition is the most general
definition of acids and bases.

Lewis Acids and
Bases
• Lewis acids generally have an incomplete octet
(e.g. BF3).
• Transition metal ions are generally Lewis acids.
• Lewis acids must have a vacant orbital (into which
the electron pairs can be donated).
• Compounds with p-bonds can act as Lewis acids:
H2O(l) + CO2(g) → H2CO3(aq)


Equilibria of Acid-Base
Buffer Systems
• Why do some lakes become acidic when showered
with acid rain, while others show no change in their
pH?
• How does blood maintain a certain pH while in
constant contact with countless cellular acid-base
reactions that occur in the body?
• And, how can chemists maintain a certain pH level
(i.e., constant H+ concentration) in a reaction that
produces or consumes H+ or OH-?

How Do Buffer Solutions
Work
• Buffer work thorough the phenomenon known as the
“Common-ion Effect”.
• A buffer must contain an acidic component to react with the
OH- ion and a basic component to react with the H+ ion.
• When OH- is added to the buffer, the OH- reacts with HA to
produce A- and water. But, the [HA]/[A-] ratio remains more
or less constant, so the pH is not significantly changed.
• When H+ is added to the buffer, A- is consumed to produce
HA. Once again, the [HA]/[A-] ratio is more or less constant,
so the pH does not change significantly.
Buffer Diagram


Buffered Solutions
• Buffers are solutions that resist changes in their pH
caused by external force.
• A buffer consists of a mixture of a weak acid (HA)
and its conjugate base (A-):
HX(aq)
HA (aq) H+(aq) + XA--(aq)
(aq)
• The Ka expression is
+ -
[H ][A ]
Ka =
[HA]
+ [HA]
∴[ H ] = K a
[A - ]

Strong Acid-Base
Titrations
• A plot of pH versus volume of acid (or base) added is called a titration
curve.
• Consider adding a strong base (NaOH) to a solution of a
strong acid (HCl).
• Before any base is added, the pH is given by the strong acid
solution. Therefore, pH < 7.
• When base is added, before the equivalence point, the pH is
given by the amount of strong acid in excess. Therefore, pH < 7.
• At equivalence point, the amount of base added is
stoichiometrically equivalent to the amount of acid originally
present. Therefore, the pH is determined by the salt solution.
Therefore, pH = 7.
• To detect the equivalent point, we use an indicator that
changes color somewhere near 7.00.
 

Strong Acid-Base
Titration Curve

Strong Acid-Base Titrations
Cont.
• The equivalence point in a titration is the point at which the
acid and base are present in stoichiometric quantities.
• The end point in a titration is the observed point.
• The difference between equivalence point and end point is
called the titration error.
• The shape of a strong base-strong acid titration curve is very
similar to a strong acid-strong base titration curve.
• Initially, the strong base is in excess, so the pH > 7.
• As acid is added, the pH decreases but is still greater than 7.
• At equivalence point, the pH is given by the salt solution (i.e.
pH = 7).